Two weeks ago, there were a whopping 18 Greenwich residential property closings, but last week saw only seven --based on information provided to the Greenwich Multiple Listing Service.

Of course, the swings in closing numbers has much to do with the number of offer acceptances that occurred one to three or more months prior that start the chain of events, as well as bank and attorney schedules and the weather. That said, we're seeing an acceleration from last year in the makeup of sold properties from the mid- and upper tiers. This week the lowest sale at $320,000 was exactly ten percent of the highest sale at $3,200,000.

In reviewing these sales, my "Buy of the Week" is a single-family colonial-style four-bedroom home at 9 Melrose Ave. that I know well since I was asked to co-list it by Dorothy Darlington while I was with William Raveis Real Estate back in November of 2007. Although the owner purchased the 2004-built property for $895,000, he felt that a reasonable asking price was $1,675,000. Obviously that didn't fly and subsequently he agreed to lower the asking price to $1,389,000, then to $999,000.

Now in a short sale, it had gone to contract last July but the bank rejected the deal after getting two appraisals at $900,000 and $910,000. This deal at $725,000 represents good value for the buyer for a 3,700-square-foot home with an oversized two--car garage and bonus room above it.

My "Sale of the Week" selection was the Cape Cod four-bedroom Riverside home north of East Putnam Avenue. The listing agent, John Cooke, did a nice job with pricing guidance and wide-angle photography and it really paid off. The sale brought a little more than 95 percent of asking.

Not to beat a dead horse, but reasonable asking prices in comparison with the competition are key along with de-cluttered interiors captured by great super-wide angle photography in making a real difference in the successful marketing of a property. Normal or standard wide-angle bathroom photographs with a flash caught in the mirror and, worse, the Realtor-photographer taking it are a real turn off.

The next technology: 3D printing

You've probably heard about or may have even seen a new technology called 3-D printing. Using 3-D scanners and devices that melt and extrude plastic to create the image just scanned allows the creative engineer to replicate forms that people can hold in their hands and understand in a real physical sense.

The latest innovations for architects and builders now allow computer-aided design drawings to be "printed" to achieve the same tactile forms of structures to be held in the hands of buyers. They can separate the floors to get a real physical understanding of the space and flow of the room layouts as well as to study the exterior look of the buildings in design. Wow! That's a real improvement for understanding a design before committing major resources to its construction.

The Plan Collection hosts floor plans for more than 20,000 homes created by a variety of architects. The company is moving forward with a plan to include data so that 3-D printers can create miniature versions of the homes that will fit on a desk.

This Week's Success Quote

"I fear the day technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots." -- Albert Einstein

Ken Edwards is the principal Broker for Edwards & Associates and has lived in town since 1974. All opinions expressed in this column are entirely his own and not those of this publisher. Comments, questions and suggestions may be sent to K_W_Edwards@Yahoo.com or you can call or text Ken at (203) 918-4444. Questions of general interest will be addressed in this column while others will receive individual responses.